League of Women Voters of Blount County 2006 Candidate Survey
Name Mike
Gribble Phone (865) 982-1477
Candidate for
County Commission District 6 Seat A
Please
write your answers in the space provided or use a separate sheet, and return
your survey in the enclosed stamped envelope. It is very important that you
write legibly. Please consider e-mailing your completed survey by
requesting an electronic survey at rderycke@bellsouth.net
The
League of Women Voters will acknowledge receipt of your completed survey.
I. Qualifications and experience:
- Please list your
diplomas and degrees, along with the areas of study.
Associates Degree,
Associate of Applied Science
Degree,
Studied electrical and
mechanical engineering
- What relevant
experience do you have, including previous public offices held?
Served as Executive Board member and President of
UNITE Local 2540 a total of eight years
while employed at BTR Finishing Plant (Schlegel’s)
in
I was also elected Executive Vice
president of the Southern Region.
I am the only candidate for
District 6, Seat A, who has attended a majority of
meetings, Finance Committee
meetings, Public Service Committee meetings, and Intergovernmental
Committee meetings during the past year.
I have also attended several other relevant local government and
community meetings.
- Please list local
service and civic groups in which you have participated, including when
and for how long.
I was a team
captain for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life in 2002. My team, the
- Please indicate any
business activities that could constitute a conflict of interest in the
event you are elected.
I am not aware of any.
- Name three leadership skills that you
practice.
1. Listening to others. Many times the best
solution to a problem is brought out in discussion with other
interested
parties. As a leader it’s important to try and let every stakeholder have a
voice.
2. Speaking up when I feel there is room for
improvement or a better solution
3.
Looking for ways to make things work, being positive. When somebody says, “That
will never work” I want to know “Why not?” If they say “That’s the way we’ve
always done it” I want to know “Why don’t we look to see if we can do it
better?” It’s important to offer alternatives instead of just saying there’s a
problem. I like to think that I try to find a way to make things work better
whenever possible.
F. What
unique qualities, besides the above leadership skills, do you have to
contribute to this office?
I have lived most of my life in
of this region too and I think
that experience is helpful when making decisions. I am a father of three school
age children which is a big
motivation for me to help keep
generation
II. Questions about your understanding of the office you
are seeking:
- What do you see as the
three most important functions of this office?
1.
Provide adequate funding for necessary services while keeping taxes low and
reasonable
2.
Planning for the future of
3.
Maintaining our rural atmosphere, culture, and values while fostering common
sense growth
and progress
- What would you identify
as the three
most important issues facing
1. Structuring our rapid growth
2. Adequately
funding the schools, roads and other necessary service
3. Building a
consensus among citizens about where
- What can you do in this
office to impact these three most important issues?
As a community, with input from the citizens, we
must identify what type of growth is acceptable and
have a comprehensive growth plan. As a commissioner
I would take steps to see that this happened as quickly as possible.
We must have adequate schools. As a Commissioner, if
the School Board says we need a new high school I
would appropriate enough money for the school. If I felt it was
unnecessary I would meet with my
constituents and give facts as to
why I felt it was unnecessary. I would encourage greater cooperation between
the school board and the
commission.
I would support a one-time
adequate facilities tax on new construction. This places part of the burden of
funding increased services on
those who cause the need for increased services. I think this is much better
than
a realty transfer tax which is a
tax that is levied every time a property changes hands. Every one I have heard
agrees that property taxes alone
on a new home are not enough to provide the necessary increase in services.
An adequate facilities tax won’t
cover it all but it’s a substantial improvement over the current system.
III. Positions on specific issues of importance in
A.
Means for insuring the fair and
respectful treatment of all
Fair and respectful treatment of others is hard to legislate. I feel like it is a learned behavior. Public meetings and programs in the schools are a start to overcoming these issues. This is also something that needs to be taught at home. Also, elected leaders must be willing to set an example.
B.
Promotion of greater diversity in our hired and appointed government
officials and employees
The
department heads, or those doing hiring, should seek out well qualified people
and consider diversity when making employment decisions. Greater
diversification should be a goal and we should periodically review to see that
we are meeting our goals.
C.
Reconciling the potentially competing interests of growth/development
and adequate infrastructure in our county, including the application of the
Hunter Growth Strategy
I think
the Hunter Growth Strategy has many good points but I don’t agree with it all.
The County had five guiding policies in place already, which were utilized by
the Hunter group. Those policies were based on community input meetings and
they are a good guide for the future. The number one guiding policy was and is
to preserve the rural atmosphere of the County and I think that local governing
bodies must strive to keep that in mind when making decisions.
D.
The environmental impact of development and/or non-attainment status
with the EPA
We
should seek new industry with less environmental impact than traditional
industry. This might include research and technology type companies. Using
professionals we should try to make smart decisions about growth to help lower
our emissions. That could mean using better and more modern equipment in some
industries. Building more energy efficient homes and improvements to existing
homes. Seeking State and/or federal grants to make improvements when available.
E.
Identifying and resolving conflicts of interest of public officials
It is a concern to me that our State Legislature had
to have a special ethics session. Most conflicts of interest are common sense.
If someone can directly profit or has a vested personal interest in a decision
being made then they should seriously consider not voting on (or initiating) a
proposal or resolution.
F.
The consolidation of:
1. city and county schools
2. city and county government
3. or a feasibility study on consolidation
All
three of these issues are very inflammatory. I would defer any decision or
comment on these issues to
the constituents in my
district.
G.
Health care –
Health care
costs certainly are rising much faster than any other cost. I don’t know what
impact I could have as a Blount County Commissioner on Health Care. If there is
anything within the Commission’s jurisdiction that came before me I would
certainly seek the input of the citizens in my district and make an appropriate
decision.
IV. Questions for
CANDIDATES FOR
- How can you communicate
effectively with your constituents?
Making
myself available through community meetings, by phone, and by e-mail.
My e-mail is mikesgribble@charter.net and my
phone is 982-1477. I plan to attend all
- Which recommendations
of the Hunter Growth Strategy do you support, and why?
I have not
read the Hunter Growth Strategy enough to comment here. I have mostly just
looked at, or attended meetings, that summarized the study. I do favor
implementation of a comprehensive growth plan as soon as possible.
- How do you propose to
fund infrastructure growth and improvements?
- A wheel tax
- An adequate facilities
tax
- Other____________________________________________
As stated previously I support an adequate
facilities tax.
- How can the county
address the needs of the senior population?
One way is
to support the bill in the legislature which would freeze property taxes for
those 65 and over. I have not read the bill completely but I do support a tax
freeze for those 65 and over with adequate restrictions to prevent abuse. For
example, it should be the person’s primary residence that they own and reside
in.
- What is your position
on hiring a county law director vs. the current practice of retaining an
attorney for the Mayor?
I have not studied this question thoroughly but it
sounds like it makes more sense to have an attorney the whole Commission can
refer to rather than just the
- Concisely describe your
vision for
I want to
keep